Advanced voting is now open in Hamilton’s Ward 8 (West/Central Mountain) as residents choose who will replace former Councillor John-Paul Danko.
Danko was recently elected Member of Parliament for Hamilton West-Ancaster-Dundas for the Liberal Party of Canada, leaving his Council seat vacant.
Hamilton City Council decided to hold a by-election to fill the vacant seat.
The incoming Councillor will only serve approximately one year since the next municipal election is set for October 2026.
There are 26 candidates vying to be Councillor for the ward, which runs east-west from Upper Wellington Street to Garth Street and north-south from the Niagara Escarpment to the hydro corridor just south of Rymal Road.
Those candidates are Ralph Agostino, Waleed Ali, Alex Ballagh, Caleb Bosveld, Philip Bradshaw, Sonia Brown, Rob Cooper, Joshua Czerniga, Glenn Davies, Scott Duvall, Andrew Fedurko, Anthony Frisina, Kevin Gonci, Read Hansen, Asuf Khokhar, Frank Lenarduzzi, Michael Loomans, Michael Marson, Dale Murphy, Marlon Picken, Lohifa Pogoson Acker, Ray Polawski, Sebastian Popovici, Barry Quinn, Terry Whitehead, and Colleen Wicken.
The Hamilton Independent’s full breakdown of the 26 candidates can be viewed here.
Notably, Brown came second to Danko in the 2022 election with 1,936 votes (22.82 per cent), Cooper is a Hamilton Mountain Progressive Conservative Party riding association executive and was campaign manager for Brown’s 2022 campaign, Duvall is the former City Councillor for Ward 7 (Central Mountain) and a former NDP Member of Parliament for Hamilton Mountain, Barry Quinn is the brother of Patt Quinn and formerly a Burlington and Halton Regional Councillor, Justice of the Peace, and President of the Ontario Police Services Board, and Terry Whitehead is a former Hamilton Mountain City Councillor who served from 2006-2022 but opted not to run again in 2022.
According to a Facebook ad, Whitehead is endorsed by City Councillor Mike Spadafora (Ward 14 – West Mountain), whose ward is adjacent to Ward 8.
Ward 8 is home to Mohawk College, Chedoke Hospital, St. Joseph’s Mental Health and Wellness Resource Centre, and parts of the Chedoke Rail Trail.
Advanced voting is officially open, with voters able to cast a ballot from Monday to Friday between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. at City Hall in Downtown Hamilton.
Advanced voting polls within the ward will be open on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Mohawk College, St. Charles Adult Education Centre, Westmount Recreation Centre, Dave Andreychuk Mountain Arena and the Courtyard Marriott.
Election day polls are at the same five locations, but will be open on Monday only from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The city says that eligible Ward 8 electors can cast their vote at any of the listed polling locations at the appropriate dates and times.
Results are expected shortly after 8 p.m. on Monday.
Voters are reminded that they do not need a voter card to cast a ballot, only identification or documents that are able to show proof of identity and residence.
Voters may also complete a declaration of identity form if they do not have proof of identity or proof of residence.
The city’s by-election webpage can be viewed here, while the province of Ontario’s Declaration of Identity – Form 9 can be viewed here.
Based in Hamilton, he reaches hundreds of thousands of people monthly on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. He has been published in The Hamilton Spectator, Stoney Creek News, and Bay Observer. He has also been a segment host with Cable 14 Hamilton. In 2017, he received the Chancellor Full Tuition Scholarship from the University of Ottawa (BA, 2022). He has also received the Governor General’s Academic Medal. He formerly worked in a non-partisan role on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
